Baykar Group has agreed with the Ukrainian state enterprise "Ivchenko-Progress" on the purchase of dual-circuit turbojet engines AI-322F and AI-25TLT. They will be used on the promising MIUS unmanned fighter (Muharip Insansız Uçak Sistemi).
Turkey wants to create a full-fledged MIUS unmanned fighter, potentially capable of solving the tasks currently assigned to manned vehicles. The project is moving forward confidently: as it became known, the other day Baykar signed an agreement for the supply of Ukrainian engines.
The contract between him and the company "Ivchenko-Progress" was signed at the Istanbul exhibition Saha Expo 2021. Ukraine will supply AI-322F and AI-25TLT dual-circuit turbojet engines for the drone.
Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar recalled at the ceremony that Ivchenko-Progress supplies AI-450 engines for the new Akıncı UAV, which is already being mass-produced.
The Muharip Insansız Uçak Sistemi jet combat UAV has been developed by Baykar Savunma (Baykar Defense, as part of the Baykar Group) since 2013. Judging by the images shown over the years, its appearance was seriously changed in the process of research and development work. The first flight of the MIUS demonstrator was scheduled for 2023.
Project image of MIUS
Image Source: Baykar
The UAV has one engine, signs of stealth technology are noticeable in the design. The maximum take-off weight of the device is estimated at 5,500 kilograms, the payload mass is up to 1,500 kilograms. Weapons can be placed both inside and on the external suspension.
Earlier it became known that the aircraft will exist in two versions: subsonic (MIUS-A) and supersonic (MIUS-B). As far as can be judged, the first will receive the AI-25TLT engine, and the second — AI-322F.
Muharip Insansız Uçak Sistemi will be able to solve a variety of combat tasks, including strikes on ground targets and the defeat of aircraft. It is assumed that in air combat, he is able to perform "aggressive maneuvers" using artificial intelligence. The UAV can be used as part of a "swarm" or as an unmanned slave for fighter pilots controlled by pilots.
Among other things, MIUS can be used from the deck of the new Turkish universal amphibious assault ship Anadolu, which may be commissioned in 2022.
Turkey is currently implementing another ambitious project in the field of combat aviation — the fifth-generation Turkish Fighter Experimental (TF-X) fighter. His model was shown at the aerospace exhibition in Le Bourget in 2019. As of today, we have begun to produce structural elements and parts for the first prototype aircraft.
Russia, in turn, continues to work on a promising new generation fighter Checkmate.
